Bottle drier



April 15, 1941. B. G. coPPxNG 2,238,554

BOTTLE DRIER Filed Deo. 20, '1938 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 B1-Lacer Gray` Cbppzgi April 15, 1941. B. G. coPPlNG BOTTLE mmm Filed Dec. 2o, 1958 2 sheets-'sheet 2 Bruce Gray Clopppzg. 5 64.15 K k Patented Apr. 15, 1941 BOTTLE DRIER Bruce G. Capping, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, as-

signor to The Coca-Cola Company, Wilmlngton, Del., a corporation of Delaware Application December 20, 1938, Serial No. 246,829

f In Canada, September 22, 1938 10 Claims.

This invention relates to the beverage industry, and more particularly to a new and improved bottle wiper, having -as its purpose the removing of moisture from the exterior of bottles.

It 'is generally recognized that the potability of most beverages is greatly enhanced by reirigeration; and this lbeing so, it is customary'to place such-in what are commonly called coolers said-devices broadly constituting nothing more than lice boxes in 4which rbottles may be placed together with a `quantity of ice, and water; 'the temperature of the Vcontents of the'bottles after a suilicient period of time then lapproximating that at which said water is maintained by its cooling factor.

This commonly'used'method of wetcooling has one serious drawback in `that a bottle when removed from a cooler is 'obviously covered to a greater or less degree with moisture, which tends to drip upon the floorof the establishment in which the beverage is sold, often creating unsightlypuddlesand stains; and again, the hands of the purchaser immediately become wet through contact with the container, this being disagreeable, particularly to females. Further, said excess water 'may drip upon the clothes of the consumer, `this action'not being conducive to the promotion of good will, and it may also be noted that when the bottle is tilted at the conventional angle for drinking, said water tends to now along the neck of the container and into the mouth of the consumer of the beverage, which is undesirable, particularly if the interior of the cooler has not been thoroughly cleaned, Yor the exterior of the bottle exposed to contamination.

Heretofore, `several means have been suggested to take care `of this undesirable feature, but these have been for vthe most part crude, and

not particularly sanitary, as for example hangingv a common towel adjacent the cooler in order that eachpurchaser may dry his bottle when such is removed from the water, this obviously becoming a public towel in a short time as the hands 'of successive persons come in contact therewith.

Other expedients inthe nature of coasters'and papercoverings for bottles have likewise been suggested, but these are not regarded as entirely satisfactory, in view of the additional cost incidental to furnishing such, incomplete and insuicient drying action, and a tendency of consumers not to go to the trouble of adjusting them in place, many purchasers apparently preferring to take the-consequences of a wet bottle rather than be bothered with an accessory device.

An object of the instant invention is to provide Y' f tion.

a wiper for removing water from the exterior of bottles.

A further object vis to provide automatic action in such a device. f

A still further object isf to provide simplicity of construction and operation.

'A still further object is to provide cheapness of construction in a bottle wiper.

Another object is to provide a reservoir for catching and retaining excess water in a device of the instant type.

Another object is to provide a wiper which is attractive in appearance and susceptible to ready attachment to premises upon which beverages are sold.

These and other objects made apparent throughout the further rprogress of this specication are accomplished by means of my wiper, a full and complete understanding of which is facilitated by reference tothe drawings herein, in which:

, Fig. 1 is a view in kperspective-showing `my device in inoperative position, with a bottle resting therein.

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view of the structure illustrated in Fig. 1.

Fig 3 isa horizontal sectional view taken substantially along line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3, taken, however, along the line 4--4 of Fig. 2.

Fig. l5 is an exploded view of my wiper, showing the various parts thereof in dissembled posi- Fig. 6 is a vertical sectional view showing a bottle as it appears during the drying'operation.

Fig. '7 is a horizontal cross sectional view taken along the line 'I-'I of Fig. 6. y

Referring now to the drawings, my invention comprises what may be a cylindrical casing I0, having a circular opening Il in its top of a di-v ameter slightly in excess of that of bottles contemplated to be used with the wiper. Spacedly mounted on the side wall of casing I0 are four right-angled brackets I2 (Fig. 3), which are pro- 1 vided with holes I 3 at their tops and bottoms for the reception of the ends 'I4 of cranks I5, said cranks being passed through a plurality of H-shaped sponge holders I6 in such manner as tor permit saidelements ,I6 to move downwardly and inwardly towards the central vertical axis of casing it upon manipulation.

A series of Sponges or other absorbent elements -I'I are mounted in vholders I6 'in la suitable manner, as by cementing for example, the interior vertical faces |8 of said drying elements being preferably convexly curved to accommodate the outer contour of a bottle.

Attention is now directed to the bottom sponge holder assembly of my wiper, same comprising a perforated plate I9 (Fig. 5) to which is united a sponge or other appropriate drying member 28. Perforated plate I9 is in turn attached to four cross pieces 2| which meet each other at right angles and extend outwardly beyond the edges of said plate, said pieces being provided at their outer ends with holes or openings 22 calculated to receive the ends 23 of connecting links 24, said links being passed through the lower ends of holding elements I6 in such manner that the bottom assembly is pivotally connected therewith.

The lower portion of casing I is provided with a spring holder 25 (Fig. 2), lin which is loosely encased a spring 2E, the upper surface of which bears against the bottom of the lower sponge holding assembly described heretofore, the relative positioning of the various parts being such that said spring normally holds the bottom aSs-embly and associated side elements in an open position approximating that suggested by Figs. 1 and 2.

The bottom or reservoir portion of casing I0 consists of a tightly fitting cup-like element 2'! contemplated to be held in place through means of slots 28 (Fig. 5) in the upper portion thereof, which engage pins 29 xedly mounted on opposite sides of the casing.

A bracket such as 3i) may be attached to casing I0 for the purpose of mounting the wiper upon a wall, counter, or other fixture, as by receiving a tongue-like member 3| fastened to such anchorage. Or the entire wiper may be incorporated within a cooler itself, the structure described herein being primarily by way of i1- lustration, and it being apparent that any mechanism involving the essential drying features of the instant structure comes within the purview and scope of my invention.

The operation of the instant device, while perhaps adequately suggested by the foregoing description, may, for the pur-pose of clarifying any possible doubts, be described as follows:

A bottle 32 is withdrawn from a cooler and inserted with water dripping therefrom through the upper opening H of casing Il), said bottle then being lpressed downwardly as by placing the hand on the top 33 thereof, this action causing the bottom of said container to compress sponge or other absorbent element 29, and with continuing pressure, to compress spring 26, this downward movement continuing until the ends of 2| rest adjacent the top of spring holder 25 (Fig. 6).

During the movement just described, connecting links 24 have caused the side holding elements yIii, together with the absorbent members carried thereby, to move downwardly and inwardly, this action resulting in compression of elements Il against the wet sides of bottle 32. Such compression serves to transfer the undesirable water to the sponge members, and at the same time force such water out of the Sponges, whereupon it drains downwardly through perforated plate i9 and through the perforations of spring holding element 25, into container 2l. Said containernaturally accumulates water from time to time, and may be emptied 'by simply twisting -slightiy in a ooun'terclockwise -direction in order that slots 2.8 may become disengaged from pins 29, a downward pull on the container then serving to free same from the casing.

As bottle 32 is removed from the wiper, spring 26 automatically returns the bottom sponge holding assembly to its normal position, and at the same time side Sponges I1 are returned to their retracted position, this movement, in permitting all of said Sponges to return to their full size, further serving to absorb and remove any remaining water from the sides and bottom of the bottle, which may nowbe taken from the wiper and its contents enjoyed without the undesirable features associated with a wet container, described heretofore.

It is obvious that the instant device is subject to additional refinement, both by way of styling and in the finish and decoration imparted thereto, attractive color combinations at once suggesting themselves to the commercial designer.

From the foregoing, it is apparent that I have disclosed a new and useful bottle wiper, which is simple, positive, and automatic in its action; capable of being economically constructed;` attractive in appearance; and adapted to serve its contemplated function in a thoroughly efficient manner.

While I have herein described a preferred embodiment of my invention, various changes, alterations, reconstructions, additions, and rearrangements of parts and structure may be resorted to without departing from the scope of the appended claims, which are to be as broadly construed as my contribution to the art justifies.

I claim:

l. In a device of the character described, a cylindrical casing, a bottle admitting aperture in the top thereof, a series of supporting brackets spacedly mounted within said casing, a series of vertically extending sponge holders vertically disposed within said casing, a plurality of links pivotally mounting said holders to said supporting brackets, Sponges anchored in said holders, a bottom plate adjacent the lower ends of said Sponges, a sponge mounted on the top of said plate, springs means for maintaining said bottom element in position, and links pivotally joining said plate with Said sponge holding elements,

whereby upon downward movement of said bottom element, as when same is contacted by the base of a bottle, said side Sponges move inwardly and downwardly, pressing against the outer walls of such bottle and removing excess moisture therefrom.

2. In a device of the character described, a casing, a bottle admitting aperture therein, a series of supporting brackets mounted within said casing, a series of sponge holders disposed within said casing, a plurality of links pivotally mounting said holders to said supporting brackets, Sponges anchored in said holders, a bottom plate adjacent said Sponges, a sponge mounted on the top of said plate, means for maintaining Said bottom element in position, and links pivotally joining said plate with said sponge holding elements, whereby upon downward movement of said bottom element, as when same is contacted by the base of a bottle, said side Sponges move inwardly and downwardly, pressing against the outer walls of such bottle and removing excess moisture therefrom.

3. In a device of the character described, a casing, a bottle admitting aperture therein, a series of supporting brackets mounted within Said casing, a series of holders for Water absorbent elements disposed within said casing, a

plurality of links pivotally joining said absorbent elements with said supporting brackets, water absorbent elements anchored v in said holders, a bottom plate adjacent said water absorbent elements, a water absorbent element mounted on the top of said plate, means for maintaining said bottom element in position, and links pivotally joining said plate with said holders for` water absorbent elements, whereby upon downward movement of said bottom element, as when same is contacted by the base of a bottle, said side water absorbent elements move inwardly and downwardly, pressing against the outer walls of such bottle and removing excess moisture therefrom.

4. In a device of the character described, a casing, a bottle admitting aperture therein, a series of supporting brackets mounted within said casing, a series of sponge holders disposed within said casing, a plurality of links pivotally joining said holders with said supporting brackets, sponges anchored in said holders, a

bottom plate adjacent said Sponges, a spongev is contacted by the base of a bottle, said side Sponges move inwardly and downwardly, pressing against the outer walls of such bottle and removing excess moisture therefrom, and a detachable container secured to the bottom of said cylinder for the purpose of collecting water thus removed.

5. In a device of the character described, a casing, a bottle admitting aperture therein, a supporting element affixed to the side of said casing, a series of supporting brackets mounted within said casing, a series of sponge holders disposed within said casing, a plurality of links pivotally joining said holders with said supporting brackets, Sponges anchored in said holders, a bottom plate adjacent said Sponges, a sponge mounted on the top of said plate, means for maintaining said bottom element in position, and links pivotally joining said plate with said sponge holding elements, whereby upon downward movement of said bottom element, as when same is contacted by the base of a bottle, said side Sponges move inwardly and downwardly, pressing against the outer Walls of such bottle and removing excess moisture therefrom.

6. In a device of the character described, a casing, a bottle admitting aperture therein, a series of sup-porting brackets mounted within said casing, a series of holders for moisture absorbing means disposed within said casing, a plurality of links pivotally joining said moisture absorbed means with said supporting brackets, moisture absorbing means anchored in said holders, a bottom plate adjacent said moisture absorbing means, a moisture absorbing means mounted on the top of said plate, means for maintaining said bottom element in position, and links pivotally joining said plate with said holders for moisture absorbing means, whereby upon downward movement of said bottom element, as when same is contacted by the base of a bottle, said side moisture absorbing means move inwardly and downwardly, pressing against the outer walls of such bottle and removing excess moisture therefrom.

7. In a device of the character described, a casing, a bottle admitting aperture therein, a series of supporting brackets mounted within said casing, a series of sponge holders disposed within said casing, a plurality of links pivotally joining said holders with said supporting brackets, sponges anchored in said holders, a bottom plate adjacent said sponges, means for maintaining said bottom element in position, and links pivotally mounting said plate with said sponge holding elements, whereby upon downward movement of said bottom element, as when' same is contacted by the base of a bottle, said side Sponges move inwardly and downwardly, pressing against the outer walls of such bottle and removing excess moisture therefrom.

8. In a device of the character described, supporting means, a plurality of longitudinally eX-' tending moisture absorbent elements hingedly mounted to the interior thereof, and a moisture absorbent base pivotally joined to said absorbent elements, whereby upon pressure being exerted upon said base, said elements are drawn inwardly to contact the side walls of a container and remove excess water therefrom, and means for maintaining said absorbent elements in open position for receiving a container.

housing having an opening in one end throughv which an article to be dried can be inserted, moisture absorbing side pads in the housing, means in said housing for mounting said pads for movement toward and away from a line passing centrally through said opening and longitudinally through said housing with one end of each of the pads adjacent the opening and the other end of each of the pads remote therefrom, a moisture absorbing end pad, means for mounting said end pad near the ends of the side pads remote from said opening for movement parallel to said line and toward and away from said openinlg, connections between the means for mounting the side pads and end pad so constructed and arranged that when said end pad is moved away from the opening by pressure of an article to be dried the side pads are moved toward said line, and resilient means to move the end pad toward the opening and the side pads away from said line when the pressure of an article to be dried on said end pad is released.

BRUCE GRAY COPPING. 

